Bit.Trip Runner Preview

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Commander Video is running for his life in the most ambitious Trip yet.

By Daemon Hatfield

Gaijin Games has three Bit.Trip titles under its belt and they're some of the best, most artful titles available on WiiWare. The next installment in the series, Bit.Trip Runner, is more ambitious than the first three in every way. An onrails platformer much like the recent indie hit Canabalt, Runner combines retro game nostalgia, catchy chiptunes, and hardcore twitch gameplay into one impressive package.

For the first time in the series, instead of controlling an abstract shape you now have direct control of protagonist Commander Video. He's out for a jog through his blocky, pixilated world and it's up to you to maneuver him past the many obstacles in his path. He's not going to stop unless he runs head first into something, so you'll have to tell him when to jump, slide, or use his kung fu to crash through impediments. Along the way you'll notice piles of gold waiting to be picked up -- snatch them all and you'll unlock a 4-bit homage to Atari 2600 games like Pitfall and Adventure.

Click here to go for a run.

There are three zones, each made up of 12 stages with a boss battle at the end. You'll start your run on an alien world with giant worm monsters lunging at you from the background. The boss of the first zone is a spaceship that drops rocks in your path and sends miniature UFOs after you. Survive long enough and the ship will come down to your level so you can give it a good karate kick. Before our demo was over we had made it to a green countryside area and by this point the game was absolutely insane with the amount of obstacles being thrown at us.

This is the most challenging Bit.Trip, yet. It's all about timing and memorizing the layout of each stage. If you get tripped up you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the stage -- there are no checkpoints. Luckily, the layouts are set in stone, as opposed to the randomly generated levels of Canabalt. Levels are fairly short and you can keep trying as many times as it takes.

Bit.Trip games are known for their plucky chiptunes and often recruit notable 8-bit music makers to contribute to their soundtracks. For Runner, NES rock band Anamanaguchi has been enlisted. It's not clear how much of the soundtrack was provided by the band, but everything we've heard so far has been great. As you run through levels the more gold you pick up the more intense the music becomes. All of the sound effects, from jumping to picking up treasure, add to the melodies.

Bit.Trip Runner takes off this spring. You should definitely keep an eye out for it.